


Danganronpa V2: Hope is Dead

by HazelGatoya



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hope you're ready, Hopefully something in this is romantic, Just gonna spoil the entire franchise, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), So much death, so many spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-31 02:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13964988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelGatoya/pseuds/HazelGatoya
Summary: Hoshiko Tomomi is used to searching for the future in the stars, but she could never have predicted this. Trapped in a school with fifteen other students, presided over by the sadistic robot bear Monokuma, every day is suddenly going to be a day of searching who to trust, who to befriend, and trying not to get killed.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> HAHAHA spoilers ahead, for Danganronpa V3 in particular. I love comments, so be sure to leave some. :D There will be art in this as soon as I figure out how to put it in...

    The meeting-room seemed smaller than usual this evening. The production team glanced at each other awkwardly from their seats around the table, not sure what exactly was making the room seem more crowded. It could have been the two guests, outsiders, sitting among them, but it was more likely the 42 members of The Cast that, while not physically present all at once, were still listening.

  
     The Queen of Despair herself, Junko Enoshima, was currently pacing the length of the table, heels clacking and blonde pigtails bouncing. "So, like, the memo was that you people are having issues with a certain part of the 52nd season?" she asked briskly. "What's the deal?"  
  
     "Well, things didn't exactly go according to plan in Season 51," an editor was quick to answer. "We had a character volunteer to stay at the Ultimate Academy in order to let the last two escape."  
  
     "Amazing!" Junko was instantly replaced by a young man in a long olive-green coat with a mop of white hair, his green eyes shining. "Finally, an Ultimate that truly understands the full meaning of sacrifice for hope! Who is this person?"  
  
     "Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Guitarist," someone else called.  
  
     " _Awww YEAH_!" The man was replaced by a young woman whose appearance could only be called loud, with the pink and blue streaks shot through her long black hair and the piercings all over her ears and face. "Ibuki approves, guys! He gonna be part of next season's plot?"  
  
     "That's what we're currently trying to decide," a writer replied. "The majority of the silent survey we've taken says that he should return in Season 52, but... we're still not certain that it's a good idea."  
  
     Ibuki frowned, but the disappointment in her pink eyes turned into a calculative gleam when they flicked to red. The loud outfit and hair became somber, styled frilly black and white. "Rantaro Amami is unpredictable," she stated, tone thoughtful but firm. "A gamble in human form. Season 51 was a smashing success, but the end was not the one planned. Keeping him is what the public wants, but his presence in this zero-sum game could end in disaster."  
  
     "Yes, Celeste, that's exactly it." The head of the production team looked over clasped hands at the young woman. "We're just trying to figure out if the high stakes are worth it."  
  
     "Well, you know my opinion of high stakes," Celeste chuckled, form flickering.  
  
     She was replaced by a man with pink hair and oddly sharp teeth, who was wearing a beanie and a yellow construction jacket. "So, how big of a disaster are we talkin' here?" he asked, scratching his face.   
  
     The bright pink and yellow faded to varying shades of purple, and the young woman stood straight. Most people in the room sat straighter as well, Kyoko Kirigiri's very aura demanded attention. "I would like to have all of the details before continuing with the discussion of what we are to do with Amami-san," she stated firmly, her violet eyes flicking toward the two guests sitting at the foot of the table. "As well as know what these two are doing here."  
  
     "Of course, Kyoko." The head of the production team nodded. "Senta, if you would?"  
  
     "Right." One of the writers stood, picking up his notes. "Rantaro was supposed to be the victim after the fifth trial, as this season was to end with only two survivors. As anyone could have picked up from this conversation, it didn't work out that way." He shuffled his notes. "Rantaro was the laid-back coward of the group, you know, the one that usually survives?"  
  
     "And we wondered why you guys were superstitious about changing things up," the pink-haired man muttered, having replaced Kyoko again.  
  
     He flicked a larger man with a substantial amount of brown dreadlocks and disheveled clothing. "Superstition is healthy! Prevents stuff like this from happening most of the time."  
  
     "Shut up, Yasuhiro, you're polluting the air with stupidity." The member of The Cast changed yet again, to another well known figure. The tall blond man pushed up his glasses, blue eyes glittering coldly. "Continue the report."  
  
     Senta nodded. "He had a daily routine that involved him going out at night that was extremely helpful in some of the cases, since he was often witness to suspicious events. He started deviating from character during the third case, however. He would give clues without hesitation, and after the second trial, never argued with Takara Asuka unless he had hard evidence that would prove the man wrong-which was only once or twice during the entire season due to Takara being the the protagonist. No roundabouting like the rival character is infamous for, and we're lucky we didn't have an outright helpful character planned."   
  
     "Like myself, you mean." Kyoko was back, studying Senta with interest.  
  
     "Yes. We confirmed the public's theory of Rantaro having a character arc, and they loved him for it, but we were disturbed to say the least."  
  
     "Of course." Kyoko was replaced by a woman wearing somber black clothing and an equally black surgical mask. She shifted nervously under everyone's gazes. "Such a large variable in an equation as explosive as a Danganronpa plot has the potential to be disastrous... or at least change the results entirely."  
  
     "Which it did." Senta reached into his bag, pulling out a tape recorder. "I'll let Takara explain."  
  
     Everyone unconsciously leaned forward as he pressed the play button. " _The incident took place as follows,_ " the protagonist of Season 51 began, and everyone immediately recognized it as the closing argument. " _There were only four of us left, and together, we agreed that spending the rest of our lives in this accursed academy was preferable to seeing anyone else die. All of us except for this case's victim. Hikaru knew that Rantaro had a certain routine that he followed every night without fail since the day we came here, and he apparently wanted to get out of this academy so badly that he felt as though sacrificing all of us was worth it, starting with Rantaro.  
  
     "He got his weapon, a hammer, from the warehouse. When Rantaro passed by the bushes, he was lying in wait, and he jumped out at him. Rantaro, however, saw it coming. Blocking the blow with his guitar, which was then shattered to pieces, Rantaro ran away as fast as he could, Hikaru giving chase too slowly to prevent Rantaro from locking himself in his room. If Hikaru given up there, he might have survived...  
  
     "Knowing that Rantaro wouldn't be coming out and knowing he couldn't break the lock on the door without electrocuting himself, that realization made him come up with another plan. He headed down to one of the power panels on the first floor, shattering the glass with the hammer and beginning inexpertly mess with the voltage levels.   
  
     "I'm not sure what exactly woke me up, Rantaro slamming his door or Hikaru shattering the glass, but I heard a noise and was unable to go back to sleep because of it. Most of these cases have happened at night, so I figured that I'd better go check it out... we all promised not to begin the killing game again, but when has that ever worked out in the past? So I left my room and called out. Hikaru, startled by it, grabbed the wrong wire or something of that nature... and was electrocuted. I hurried down the stairs just in time to see him take his final breath.  
  
     "Hikaru Mori, the Ultimate Pole Vaulter, was killed by an accident of his own creation. There will be no execution today, Monokuma."  
  
     _ The tape clicked off. "I think that's like the first accidental death in Danganronpa history." Junko was back now, staring down at the tape recorder with interest in her blue eyes. "Mouthing off to my poor wittle bear besides, that sounds like it was one tough case to crack."  
  
     "It would have been if Rantaro hadn't confessed to what Hikaru was doing right off the bat and his involvement in it," Senta replied. "All Takara and Hibiki had to really puzzle over was whether or not he was telling the truth. Something that paid off for them in spades when you showed up in AI form and gave them the lowdown of what was supposed to happen with the graduation process."  
  
     "So Rantaro took the fall like he was supposed to for the sake of his friends." Everyone stared in shock as the new Cast member knelt down next to the tape recorder, gingerly picking it up. Her dark blue hood with cat ears was up, and her pink eyes were so filled with thought and emotion that they were unreadable. "How are Takara and Hibiki doing, by the way? Did you actually let them out?"  
  
     "Yes, and they're doing... well enough," the head of production replied. "Takara sent me a rather strongly worded letter about actually keeping Rantaro in the Ultimate Academy, but with the public's response-"  
  
     Her cheeks puffed out slightly, stopping him from continuing. "Takara knows what you're planning to do... probably."  
  
     One of the two guests shifted in her seat while the other simply sighed, drawing the room's attention to them once again. "Are we actually moving into a plot discussion now that we have all of the backstory out of the way?" the one who had sighed asked tonelessly. His amber eye that wasn't hidden under a wave of his equally brightly colored hair was narrowed slightly. "You received our letter, obviously, we wouldn't be here otherwise."  
  
     "Yes..." the head of production frowned. "And though it was vague- on purpose I'm sure- it sounded like you wanted to have him planned as a major character for this season."  
  
     "Most of your issues with keeping him in the show could probably be resolved with this idea," the other guest offered, her hands pressed together in front of her chest.   
  
     She then said something that would indeed be a major spoiler for the season if it actually got implemented, so we're thickening the fourth wall that has totally existed this entire time for a second here so you can't hear it.  _Puhuhuhu._  
  
     The entire room was instantly in an uproar. "It would work, though," she protested.   
  
     "How, exactly?" an editor demanded. "We'd need a female protagonist, and you're suggesting that he survive the entire thing."  
  
     "Do you really think that your fans would be pleased if he survived one killing game only to die in another?" the male guest questioned, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "The discussion boards all believe that he'll survive this game, it's not even a spoiler if it happens."  
  
     "That still doesn't fix his unpredictability-"  
  
     "Fixing his unpredictability with that suggestion is actually far more plausible than you think."  
  
     The entire room immediately fell silent at the quiet, cold voice that had entered the discussion, staring at The Cast member currently standing on the table. His uniform was unremarkable, a simple suit and tie just like what everyone else in the room was wearing, but his hair was black, thick, and fell to his knees like a shroud, and his red eyes were staring keenly at the two guests. The man lifted his chin slightly. "Izuru," he greeted the Cast member.   
  
     "You get what we're trying to say, then?" The young woman asked.  
  
     "I would assume so." Izuru turned back to the head of production. "Honestly, I'm shocked that this idea hasn't occurred to you."  
  
     "We've never done a-" a writer protested.  
  
     "The female protagonist isn't part of the issue, that's simply their way of pleasing the public." Izuru waved a hand dismissively. "Rantaro's unpredictability stems from his survival instincts, does it not? Specifically him having them when he's not supposed to. So let him keep his instincts."  
  
     "But those instincts stem from-"  
  
     "His personality that was supposed to be completely erased?" Izuru arched an eyebrow, and the room fell silent again, looking at each other awkwardly. "Let me guess... his skills as a guitarist waned drastically once his personality began to change?"  
  
     "...Yes," Senta admitted. "He's still Rantaro, but at this point, "Rantaro" is his own person, not someone we created."  
  
     "A mix of what he was and what he was intended to be, you might say." There were some more silent awkward glances. "Well then, you may want to edit his past into something that's a little more believable to him. Change his talent to something he was truly skilled at before he entered the Ultimate Academy. Memory loss is nothing new in this series, personality loss is something else entirely." Izuru shrugged. "I don't believe we've had an Ultimate Adventurer yet, and that is something that would truly fit him."  
  
     Everyone in the room looked at each other. "That... could work," Senta admitted.  
  
     "It would be interesting," another writer added excitedly, and the entire room was suddenly throwing ideas back and forth.   
  
     No one noticing the look the male guest and Izuru exchanged, the small smirk playing on the man's lips, or how the young woman stared down at her hands in her lap. Izuru began pacing around the table as they talked, flickering between character after character, all of them seeming to have a quiet discussion separate of everyone else in the room. People that never showed up in these discussions appearing, such as Makoto Naegi, Chihiro Fujisaki, and Hajime Hinata, even Chiaki Nanami appearing again, before Hajime stilled on the table, thinking, before Junko came back with a coy smile. "So long as it's interesting, right?" she giggled, catching the room's attention again.  
  
     Izuru came back, eyes closed as he nodded. "So long as it's interesting."  
  
     "Well then, I guess that's that!" Junko raised her hands excitedly before placing them on her hips. "The plan of the outsiders pleases us greatly!" she declared. "We wish for it to be implemented, this will truly be a killing school semester to remember."  
  
     "As you say, then, Junko," the head of production agreed with a smile. The two outsiders exchanged a glance, the man still smirking and the young woman giving a small nod.  
  
     "Then let's get this show on the road!" Junko roared, and the entire room erupted into cheers.


	2. Hello, Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hoshiko wakes up in a locker, confused. She devotes her day to meeting those who have similar stories and Ultimate talents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screeches in* IT HASN'T BEEN A YEAR YET.
> 
> Seriously, though, I'm SO sorry for the wait. I had to plan out all of these dorks- sixteen people is insanity. No wonder Spike Chunsoft takes so long with their games...
> 
> Anyhow, here ya go. Hope it doesn't drag too much.

    I was used to waking up in the dark.  
  
    I was not, however, used to waking up leaned precariously against one of four very close walls. Panic seized my chest for a moment, and I stood up straight, feeling shelves against my side. My gold eyes quickly caught the light coming from the slits of where I'd been leaning. A locker? Who had put me in a locker?  
  
_No, Hoshiko. One thing at a time._  I took a deep breath. Okay. First I needed to focus on getting out, and then I could focus on what I was doing in here. I placed my hands against the door and rattled the locker a bit, blinking when the door came open only after a moment. I peeked out into the empty, dim classroom with a small frown. There was vegetation on the walls, and there were steel plates over the windows, the only light coming from the flat lights built into the ceiling. I shook my head slightly. "Where am I?" I couldn't help but ask the question out loud, looking around. Desks, vegetation, steel plates. Was I in an abandoned school? Was this a practical joke of some sort? Who would even want to play a joke on me?  
  
    I swiped some dust off of one of the desks with a finger. It felt real, and so did my sore muscles I'd gotten from standing up in a locker for an unknown amount of time. I began gently rubbing the dust between my pointer finger and thumb before wiping my finger on my galaxy-patterned skirt. "Well, at least they didn't force me into an actual school uniform..." I thought aloud again.  
  
    I started upward at the sound of the classroom door sliding open, and found myself face to face with a pair of murky green eyes framed by oddly long lashes. They widened in a way that wasn't quite obscured by his fluffy hair that was a slightly lighter shade of green, but that was the only real reaction he gave to seeing me as his eyes left mine. I was being studied, I could tell by his body language and the slight press of his lips as his eyes flicked from my cropped black hair to my golden vest, to my skirt, to the black flats I was wearing. At the same time, I studied him, taking in his baggy blue sweater and brown cargo pants, along with his black bangles on his left arm and the rings on his right. He was wearing an awful lot of jewelry, he even had piercings on his right ear and was wearing a pendant.   
  
    "I'm assuming you woke up in a locker as well?" he asked in a deep, breathy voice, leaning on the door frame slightly as his eyes flicked to the open locker behind me.  
  
    "Yeah..." I glanced back to it. "You too, huh? Guess you don't know where we are either."  
  
    "No clue," he sighed, giving me a slight smile. "I like the skirt. You an Ultimate too?"  
  
    "Oh! Yes." I headed over to him, offering a small smile. "Hoshiko Tomomi, Ultimate Astrologist."  
  
    "...A star reader?" he asked, blinking.  
  
    "Oh good, you know the difference between astrologists and astronomers, then." My small smile turned into a beam, and I tucked some of my hair behind my ear. "I usually have to explain it."  
  
    "Yes, well," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as if caught in a misstep. "I once met a woman on a ship in the Caribbean area who wouldn't stop going on about my zodiac being libra. Saying it made sense what with my personality. She warned me that my fate was to never be able to find a home, but we'll see how true that is."  
  
    "So you're more balanced than most teenage boys, I'm assuming. I'm an aquarius," I informed him. "Sounds like you travel a lot."  
  
    "Well..." His smile grew a bit gentler. "I'm not called the Ultimate Adventurer for nothing." He held out a hand. "The name's Rantaro Amami. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tomomi-san, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances."  
  
    I clasped his hand warmly with both of mine. "Nice to meet you too, Amami-san! And same." I gave a slight, somewhat rueful smile as I let go, placing my hands behind my back. "We probably better start exploring. Not going to find much around here."  
  
    "No," he agreed, stepping back out of the room. I followed him out, looking over the grass covered hall with interest. Despite the concrete, there was greenery almost everywhere, vines climbing across the walls. "Honestly, I didn't think there were any sort of modern schools that could have fallen into this much disrepair," Amami remarked, waving slightly to the left. "There's a classroom at the end of the hall there, and that's where I woke up."  
  
    "I see." I put a finger up to my cheek in thought. "You already go down the other hall?"  
  
    "I took a peek. Seems to lead to some more rooms and then some stairs going down." Amami shook his head slightly, crossing his arms. "We're likely to find more going this way. Come on."  
  
    I followed him down the hall, placing my hands behind my back as we headed down the hall in the opposite direction of where he had apparently come from, past a large bronze dragon statue that we both eyeballed. "It's not so decrepit that it should be this overgrown, right?" I asked.  
  
    "Yeah, it's pretty weird that there aren't any cracks in the walls. The vines seem to be poking through the mortar between the ceiling and the walls, though."  
  
    "Still doesn't explain why the floor is completely covered in grass." I toed the carpet of grass with my foot as we walked.  
  
    "True-oh." The note of surprise in his suddenly soft voice caused me to look up, and I saw him peering around the corner of the hallway. "We  _do_  have company."  
  
    I headed over to peek around the corner with him, and blinked when I saw a boy with shaggy silver hair running his hand along the wall, a slight scowl on his pale face. "That is a  _nice_  school uniform," slipped out before I could stop myself when my eyes landed on the dark blue fabric- and it was said louder than I meant, too. Something that was made painfully obvious when the boy gave a muffled shriek, jumping about a foot in the air before whirling around to face us, dark blue eyes wide. I gave him a small wave and an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be so loud. It is a nice school uniform, though."  
  
    "Um... th-thank you?" he stammered, hunching just slightly. "D-did you- were you-"  
  
    "We woke up in a locker too if that's what you're asking," Amami interjected smoothly, and the boy seemed to relax just a bit when he saw that someone else was taking charge of the conversation, straightening up again. "You an Ultimate too?"  
  
    "Mm...Mmhm." He nodded. "A-Arata Nishimura, Ulti-timate Hacker. Nice to meet you."  
  
    "You as well, Nishimura-kun. I'm Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Adventurer, and this is Hoshiko Tomomi, Ultimate Astrologist. You see anyone else on your way out?"  
  
    "Th-there are a couple p-people more of a-a ways down the hall," he replied, pointing over his shoulder.

     "Got it, that's where we'll head. We'll all have to meet up later to discuss stuff, but until that point we'd best figure out our situation." Amami gave a small shrug, heading past, and I blinked, following. Surprised at the quick introduction and equally fast departure. Sure there were other people, but... well, it looked like Nishimura didn't want to talk much either, ducking his head and going right back to studying the vines on the wall.  
  
    The other two came into view soon enough as we passed through what looked like stone arches, and they actually looked up from their study of the trees. There were actually trees in this part of the hallway. Wow. The girl stood, her gentle face brightening into an expression that was better described as a sunbeam than a smile. "Hello there!"  
  
    "Hi!" I grinned back, and the boy looked up from where he was sitting. Not that I was sure he'd be much taller if he was standing. He definitely had the most interesting outfit thus far, with a beanie, a lab coat, goggles, and a T-shirt with writing on it. Didn't seem like he had much interest in a uniform at all, and his dark eyes were shrewd. Calculating, as he looked at us. "I'm Hoshiko Tomomi, Ultimate Astrologist, and this is Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Adventurer. Who are you guys?"  
  
    "I'm Sakurako Kohaku, Ultimate Gardener!" the girl replied- and that made  _sense._  Her outfit was more minimalist than mine, but she did have yellow and pink flower-print stockings and the tips of her light brown hair were tipped the same vibrant green as her large eyes. "This grump here is Shichiro-san."  
  
    "I'm not a  _grump_ ," the short boy protested with a slight shake of his head. "Just confused." His expression softened a b looked to me, arching both eyebrows. "Ayumu Shichiro, Ultimate Chemist. Pleasure to meet the both of you."   
  
    Oh, so his shirt read  _My Chemical Romance._ I wasn't sure I'd been inferring correctly from the letters I could see. "The pleasure is ours." Amami dipped his head. "We're exploring the place, so we'll leave you to your own exploring."  
  
    "If you meet anyone else, be sure to tell them hello." Kohaku's expression softened, and I saw the slight fear in her gaze now. Poor thing was probably looking at the trees to comfort herself, while Shichiro seemed to be taking this whole situation a bit better.  
  
    "We will," I promised, and Amami gestured me away from the two while they turned back to the tree. I blinked when I looked through the stone arches on the other side. "Oh, a staircase!"  
  
    "We'd best go down it, then." He headed that way and I followed suit, blinking at the pink polka-dotted wallpaper. The motif carried on to the carpet, making the entire staircase pink. Why would they do that?  
  
    Who even were  _they?_ Why were at least five Ultimate students here? People like us were scattered all over the country, in some cases all over the world, and yet everyone here had confirmed the assumption that they were indeed an Ultimate student. This was so strange, but... I supposed we needed to keep moving.  
  
    The pink polka-dotted wallpaper ended with the staircase, and we found ourselves in a room with more greenery that branched off into yet another hallway. A couple bathrooms were right next to each other, the doors looking terribly battered. "Should we check these?" I asked, glancing between the pink and blue.  
  
    "I already checked the women's bathroom," a voice replied, and I turned to see a girl wearing a blue athletic tank and a skirt with slits up the sides approaching us, expression and dark blue eyes serious. "It was normal, aside from all the greenery and that same ridiculously high-tech monitor that I keep seeing all around the school. I doubt the men's is any different."  
  
    "Oh so that's what those things hanging from the ceiling are," I realized while I quickly took in her subtle muscle, the bandages on her wrists and the odd bandage-like tie that held her long black hair in a high ponytail. I'd been too busy thinking about all the other stuff to really worry about what was on the ceiling.   
  
    "In any case, we're just trying to get a grasp on our situation and see how many others are here," Amami told the girl. "We came from the second floor."  
  
    "How many are up there?" she asked.  
  
    "We met three," I replied. "Nishimura, Kohaku and Shichiro."  
  
    "I suppose upstairs is my next destination, then." She held out a hand. "Sayuri Min-seo, Ultimate Nan-taiji Master. It's an honor to meet the both of you."  
  
    I took her hand, quickly introducing myself and Amami-san. "I feel like I'm going to be saying my name and talent a lot," I admitted.  
  
    "Safe bet. There are two others on this floor that I've met, and I know there's at least one in the basement."  
  
    "There's a basement?" Amami blinked.  
  
    "Yes." Min-seo gave a bit of a curt nod. "Seems to be about as big as upstairs with bigger rooms. It's less overgrown down there as well, just a lot of roots."  
  
    "Interesting," Amami murmured.  
  
    "Do you know where the two on this floor are?" I asked.  
  
    "Yoko-san is in the dining hall and Shin'ichi-san is in the warehouse." Min-seo waved in the direction she'd come from. "Both of them are down that way. I'll see you later, then."  
  
    "Later." I offered a small wave, and we headed our separate directions. "She seems pretty put together for all this," I remarked quietly once she was out of view.  
  
    "So are we, honestly. Better to be exploring than to be freaking out, though." Amami brought a thumb up to his chin. "Everyone's coping in their own way. Whether that be inspecting the botany or trying to get a better grasp of who else is in our predicament, we're all trying to figure something out at least. I'm surprised everyone's keeping their head on their shoulders as well as they are."  
  
    "Well... we are all Ultimate students. Which is weird in of itself. I've never met one before today, and suddenly there are at least six of us in the same place."  
  
    "Probably more." He pushed open the doors to what was labelled as the dining hall.  
  
    "Oh GOSH-!" The girl in the dining hall jumped slightly, whirling around from looking at the barred windows to stare at us with piercing blue eyes. Another person with a really nice school uniform- a pink vest, neatly tailored dark blue skirt, a sort of fluffy gray scarf thing, designer black shoes... Her  _hair_ was what really caught my attention, though. The dark blue roots faded into a much icier color, and the style could almost be called a pixie cut if it wasn't so fluffy. I watched the soft spikes and her dangling silver diamond earrings bounce as she scowled at us, placing her gloved hands on her hips. "You should really give a warning before you just go barging into a room."  
  
    "Apologies," Amami chuckled softly, raising his hands. "Yoko-san, right? Min-seo said we'd find you in here."  
  
    "Rina Yoko, yeah, pleasure to meet you and all that. I absolutely love your belt, by the way." She came over to me, studying my belt and skirt. "You two have more fashion sense than Min-seo at least."  
  
    "Thanks. So, your Ultimate talent has something to do with fashion?" I asked. "Your outfit's really coordinated and all."  
  
    "Ha, yes! I'm the Ultimate Clothing Designer, and I'm glad someone understands the work I put into this!" She grinned. "If you two ever want an article of clothing commissioned, just let me know! The warehouse is filled with stuff I can use, I'm sure I'll find something to make what you're imagining."  
  
    "Speaking of the warehouse, Tomomi-san and I were just about to head there," Amami remarked. "Min-seo said we'd find someone named Shin'ichi..."  
  
    "Ugh, Shin'ichi." Yoko rolled her eyes. "No sense of aesthetic, that man, but if you must, you can go. I'm still looking for that thing I saw in here."  
  
    "I hope you find it, then." Amami chuckled softly, and we took our leave with a small wave each, heading further down the hall. "She didn't seem too interested in us," he murmured when we were out of earshot. "More our clothing."  
  
    "She's easily distracted by things pertaining to her talent, but aren't we all?" I nodded, looking at the warehouse doors as they came into view. It wasn't too terribly far away from the dining hall then. "Should we knock this time? So we don't startle Shin'ichi the way we startled Yoko?"  
  
    "If you startled her, that's her own fault for not paying attention," a slightly hoarse voice called back through the door, and I started slightly while Amami arched an eyebrow in surprise. "I'd come to greet you, but I've kind of got my hands full."  
  
    "Guess we'll come in, then." Amami stepped forward as he spoke, opening the doors for me again.  
  
    We stepped into a room filled with all sorts of ends and odds... seemed like it was mostly sporting goods in the front. Mats for gymnastics and martial arts, poles for high-jumping, iron shot-put balls... "Wow," I murmured. "We could have our own track and field matches with all of this."  
  
    "If you think that's impressive, you should see what's in the back." I looked up to see a boy descending a ladder, sharp yellow eyes fixed on us. He was wearing a camouflage army outfit and a sort of safari hat that small spikes of dark brown hair were just visible under. "The place has basically everything you'd find in any sort of warehouse, all rolled into this massive room. I'm Shin'ichi, by the way. Saburou Shin'ichi, Ultimate Hunter."  
  
    He did give off the air of a predator, now that he mentioned it. Amami quickly gave him both of our names and talents. "Makes sense you're in the warehouse, I suppose," he commented afterwards. "You're used to working with equipment and all?"  
  
    "Yeah. It's weird that they would just have all this... lying around. We could break the windows and the bars and plates covering them with a number of the combinations in here, so they must not be too interested in keeping us in the building." Shin'ichi tugged on the brim of his hat slightly. "You're an adventurer, Amami. You ever run into trouble like this before?"  
  
    "A situation like this?" Amami's green eyes grew distant for a moment, and then he winced, raising a hand to his head. "I... I feel I've been kidnapped before. I don't remember the details but I... don't think it was much like this."  
  
    "So you guys don't remember how we got here either, huh?"   
  
    "I'm trying not to focus on the big blank in my brain," I admitted. It wasn't like I hadn't noticed, I'd noticed the moment I'd wondered who kidnapped me. "I'm hoping that looking around will make the blank less big at least." I looked Amami. "But you feel like this has happened before to you?"  
  
    "Mm. We all don't remember our kidnapping, perhaps all memories of my similar experiences are gone as well."  
  
    "You're awfully calm about all of this." Shin'ichi huffed a sigh. "Especially since you're suggesting that the memory loss was done on purpose."  
  
    "Could have been." Amami lifted his hands in a shrug. "It's awfully unlikely we all have amnesia about the same thing. Mass hypnosis? Brainwashing? We don't know what our captors want. We don't know what methods they used to get us here."  
  
    ...Well, as uncomfortable a concept as that was, there was no point in denying it as a possibility. "Okay, man," Shin'ichi replied, now looking highly uncomfortable. "I'd better get back to looking around."  
  
    "That's fine." I bounced slightly, placing my hands behind my back. "Amami and I were going to check out the basement anyways."  
  
    "See you around, then," Amami told Shin'ichi, and we headed out of the warehouse.  
  
    "Brainwashing, huh?" I asked as we checked out the apparently locked gym and then headed back down in the opposite direction we'd come, and got a small, noncommittal smile in return. "We'll talk later?"  
  
    "One thing at a time," he agreed, sticking his hands in his pockets as we continued onward. The stairs to the basement came into view soon enough, but I turned my head at a noise coming from the room right next to those stairs. Amami looked that way as well. "Someone else, do you think?"  
  
    "Probably," I replied, moving forward and opening the door, peeking my head in.   
  
    A girl with long, bright green hair in two pigtails whirled around, powder blue eyes immediately lighting up at the sight of me peering in. "Oh, hi! I'm Mayu Haruna, what's your name?"  
  
    "Hoshiko Tomomi, Ultimate Astrologist," I replied, coming in fully to smile back in her and take in the soft pink and blue pastels of her uniform- as well as the silver music clips in her hair. The silver and green stockings were really the only eye catching part of the outfit other than those clips.   
  
    "Oh my gosh, you're an Ultimate too?" she squealed before I could ask. "I'm the Ultimate Violinist- and I seem to have misplaced my violin- but I'd play it for you if I could find it!"  
  
    "Oh... well, it's very nice to meet you, Haruna-chan," I replied with an equally bright smile. She was just full of energy, wasn't she? "It's okay if I call you 'chan,' right?"  
  
    "Yes, yes, it's just fine!" she replied, nodding rapidly. "It's nice to meet you too, Tomomi-chan."  
  
    I felt Amami tap me on the shoulder. "Can I steal you back for basement exploration now?"  
  
    "Yep. I'm gonna head to the basement," I told Haruna, who had blinked at the sound of a new voice and had starting leaning over slightly, blue eyes wide. "There's are other people further down the hall if you want to introduce yourself to them."  
  
    "Okay! I'll go do that as soon as I finish looking around, then!"  
  
    I gave her a small wave, then backed up from the door. "I think she must have just gotten out of her locker," I murmured to Amami as we headed towards the stairs. "There were two open lockers in there."  
  
    "Two, huh?" He gave a slight nod. "Whoever was in the other must have gotten out of the room before she got out, then. It sounded kind of like you were the first person she's seen since waking up in this place."  
  
    "She's a little too cheerful to have a full grasp on what's going on- not that any of us really do," I agreed, looking about the basement floor curiously as we reached the bottom of the stairs. The lights on the ceiling were in working order, so the place was fairly well lit. A few roots here and there, poking from the ceiling, just as Min-seo had said. "Interesting."  
  
    "This basement's not too scary, now is it?" Amami chuckled softly, his green eyes curious as he looked about. "They usually aren't, but I was kind of getting my hopes up."  
  
    "What, the situation's not scary enough for you?" I couldn't help but give a wry grin.  
  
    "Well, nothing too terribly scary has shown up, and I've always been more thrilled by the unknown than scared by it," he replied sheepishly, raising his hands.  
  
    "Another thing we have in common, I guess. I'm worried about everyone else, though." I headed over to a  _very_ impressive set of double doors, noting the word "Library" carved above them. "I've found that a lot of people don't have much of a sense of adventure." He gave me a small nod, and I swung the door open.  
  
    "Can you talk straight for five minutes?" A boy with steel gray hair and glasses was begging a girl with wavy, almost curly brown hair who was dressed entirely in pinks and grays. "Just five minutes, that's all I'm asking here!"  
  
    "I've no idea why you would ask this of me, speaking in rhyme is what sets my soul free," she replied with a gentle, but apologetic smile.   
  
    The boy made a rather interesting noise of frustration, turning, and then startling back in surprise when he saw the two of us in the doorway. "Hey there," I greeted him, causing the girl to turn as well. "Lots of books in here." It wasn't an offhand comment. There were about as many books on the shelves and littering the floor as there were stars visible in the sky... too many to count.  
  
    "Y-yeah." The boy gave a sharp, curt nod in response, adjusting his glasses and letting me see that the black on his white tie was actually made up of several tiny words. "Hello to both of you. I don't suppose you have more of an idea of what's going on than we do...?"  
  
    "Haven't the foggiest," Amami replied offhandedly, and the boy grimaced again. Okay, he was definitely the most bothered about this. "Far as we can figure, we were kidnapped, and we're all Ultimates. That hold true for you two as well?"  
  
    "All of us...? Er, yes, in my case anyways." The boy cleared his throat. "I'm Daiki Kenta, the Ultimate Historian."  
  
    "My name shall be said for all who wish to know it: Koharu Shizuka, Ultimate Poet." The girl curtseyed slightly, her ponytail bobbing.  
  
    Well that explained the rhyming. Amami and I quickly gave our names and talents. "Makes sense that you two would be in the library then," I remarked. "You know of anyone else being down here?"  
  
    "There is someone in the room over," Kenta replied. "Didn't seem too keen on talking to us, so I didn't press. How many of us are there that you've met so far?"  
  
    "Us, three on the second floor, four on the first, and now three down here," Amami mused. "That's twelve. At least eleven of those are Ultimates, but I'm beginning to think that everyone here is one."  
  
    "To think that none of us have come across a fellow before, can't help but wonder what we have in store," Shizuka pointed out.   
  
    "That's what we're trying to find out by exploring, Shizuka-san," Amami explained, rubbing the back of his head. "We'd best meet the guy in the other room, see what he's about."  
  
    "He's not very friendly, but I wish you luck." Kenta offered a small, shaky smile while Shizuka nodded.   
  
    "See you around!" I waved, and Amami and I exited the library. "The room over..." We found it pretty darn quickly, the words "game room" scrawled over the door in a neat but hasty cursive. "This must be it."  
  
    "Must be," Amami agreed, opening the door.  
  
    Where the roots were placed sparingly throughout the ceiling in most of the basement, this place was full of the things. They invaded the arcade machines, were sprawled across the walls and floor. The pool table was untouched, but that was about it. The person that Kenta had mentioned was perched on one of the more obviously broken machines, large, coal-black eyes studying what appeared to be an tablet, one half white and one half black. He had tousled, dark blue hair and was wearing a white trenchcoat and blue jeans, with a pair of sandals. ...Yoku would throw a fit over this one. He seemed to know fashion but was clearly disregarding it. "So," he remarked softly, looking up from the device at us and then leaning over and crossing his arms over his already crossed legs. "You just exploring the place?"  
  
    "Pretty much," Amami replied. "We won't take up much of your time, we were just wondering what your name and Ultimate Talent were."  
  
    "...Fair enough, I suppose." The boy gave a slow nod. "Ryouichi Kouta, Ultimate Marine Biologist. Call me Ryou, though, I've never been able to stand being called anything else."  
  
    "Ryou it is, then." I smiled. "Nice to meet you."  
  
    He glanced down at the tablet. "Tomomi and Amami, astrologist and adventurer respectively, right?"  
  
    We both stared at him, then Amami gave a soft chuckle. "You got us. So what's the deal with the tablet?"  
  
    "It's a student handbook, apparently. I just barely got it from something... strange." Ryou shrugged lightly. "I'm sure you'll get yours eventually. It has all sixteen of us on here."  
  
    "...Sixteen..." Amami murmured, gaze going distant before he winced slightly and seemed to shake it off.  
  
    "So it has all of our information in there without having to put the work in, huh?" I bounced lightly. "You don't like talking to people much, do you, Ryou?"  
  
    "No, and I'm not ashamed to admit that." He turned the gaze back to the student handbook. "And you did say you wouldn't take up much of my time. I'm sure you've got other people to meet."  
  
    "We did say that, and apparently we do," I agreed. "See you around, then."  
  
    He gave a slight hum in response, and Amami and I stepped back out of the room, closing the doors. "Well, where to now?" Amami asked.  
  
    "We could walk around the basement a little more, and then head upstairs. But are you doing all right? You're looking kind of pale."  
  
    "I think..." Amami's gaze went distant again, and he shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I don't remember. Something about the number sixteen. Let's get moving again."  
  
    I couldn't help but puff my cheeks out a bit, but only for a moment. "Will that help you feel better?"  
  
    "Ah-" he gave a bit of a startled, sheepish laugh, raising his hands. "Moving usually does help, actually. I think better on my feet."  
  
    "You  _are_  on your feet," I replied teasingly, but began walking and was gratified to see him follow. Didn't seem like there was much past the gameroom, just a locked door that I rattled the handle of and we both shrugged over. "What do you think the something strange that gave Ryou the handbook was?" I asked as we started heading back toward the stairs.  
  
    "Not certain... but if I had to hazard a guess, it was probably the same thing that Yoko was hunting for in the dining hall."  
  
    I blinked, looking over my shoulder in surprise. "I never would have guessed that, but it actually makes a lot of sense."   
  
    "It's only a guess, mind," he replied, his arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face as we ascended the staircase. He was definitely looking better now, much to my relief. "But Yoko strikes me as the type to only let certain things catch her attention, and I'm sure what Ryou described as "something strange" would fall into that category."  
  
    "That sounds about right." I put a finger up near my cheek thoughtfully as we reached the first floor once again. "We'll probably see it eventually if that's the... case..." I paused coming to a halt near an area I was pretty sure had been blocked off by iron bars open, more grass and trees scattered liberally about it. "This wasn't open before."  
  
    "No, it wasn't." Amami's arms were still crossed, his thoughtful expression growing darker for just a moment. "Guess we weren't allowed in this area when we were last up here. This is the entrance hall."  
  
    Shin'ichi had mentioned that it was weird that whoever had left us here had also left us with a warehouse with all the materials necessary to break the windows- so they weren't interested in keeping us in the building, I supposed. I quietly stepped past the pillars into the hall itself, pausing when I saw a girl we hadn't met closing the doors, her white braid stark against her long black coat. She turned, her red eyes meeting my golden ones, and her bone earrings swinging slightly. "Ah."  
  
    "Hey." I gave her a slight smile, and she turned to face us completely, giving me a clear view of her jet black blouse and skirt that had skulls dotting the hem. Looked like the skeleton motif was a theme with her. "How's the outside looking?"  
  
    "...I think that simply showing you would be far more effective than any words I could use to try to describe our predicament," she replied, dropping her gloved hands from the door and reaching up to toy with the end of her braid. "We'll all have to leave the building eventually, anyways."  
  
    "I suppose that's fair." Amami moved into the room so that he was just behind me. "You're an Ultimate as well?"  
  
    "Yes. Shinju Katou, Ultimate Coroner."  
  
    We quickly gave her our names and talents in response, matching her business-like tone as we approached the door. "It's nice to meet you, Katou-san," I told her.  
  
    "That's something I don't often hear after giving my talent," she remarked dryly. "But it is a pleasure to meet you two as well." She looked back to the door, placing her hands back on the handles. "I suggest you brace yourselves."  
  
    I took a breath, watching her push open the doors, letting light flood into the entrance hall, and we found ourselves facing...  
  
    The bright sun. Blue skies. And...  
  
    "Holy  _crap,_ " Amami breathed, clear and raw shock on his face for the first time, and I couldn't help but nod dumbly at the sentiment.  
  
    The three of us were staring up at a massive wall that was as tall as a distant mountain, and above that, the sunlight glimmered off of what was obviously a glass dome. Something almost completely insurmountable in a way that a barred window never could be. "At... at least we can still see the sky," I heard myself offer. At least I could still see the stars at night.  
  
    "Yeah, but this is  _ridiculous._ " Amami heaved a sigh. "According to Ryou, we only have three more people in our class, and I don't think anyone of who we met is capable of creating something that can help with this."  
  
    "Class?" Katou questioned. "This place does resemble a school, but it is still a bit odd to suddenly assign the group that was brought here that moniker."  
  
    "Ryou again," I explained. "He has something he calls a student handbook... he thinks we're all going to get them eventually."  
  
    "Hmm." She brought a hand up to her chin, then her red eyes focused on something on the ground behind me.  
  
    "...Just when I thought this place couldn't get any weirder," Amami remarked, and I turned to see a creature trotting up unconcernedly to us, small paws hitting the concrete and large brown eyes curious.  
  
    "Is this a baby lion?" I exclaimed, peering down at it.  
  
    "Yes," Amami replied without hesitation.  
  
    "Mufasa!" A boy's voice called, and we all looked up to see a blond boy in a red coat running towards us, followed by two other characters that were colorful in their own right. The lion cub perked up, trotting back over to the boy and rubbing up against his legs as he came to a breathless halt.  
  
    "And that makes sixteen," Amami murmured softly.  
  
    "I'm so sorry if he bothered you, sir and madams, I was distracted and did not see him wander off." The blond boy was still panting slightly as he bowed deeply to us, his wavy hair falling slightly into his face. "I assure you he's quite tame, just a bit mischievous."  
  
    "Calm down, man," Amami chuckled, raising his hands again. "He wasn't any trouble. You're a lion tamer, I'm guessing."  
  
    "You have the right of it," the large man- the sort who had a slight beard and was so solidly built that he should not plausibly the same age as the rest of us. The only notable feature of his uniform was the paw print on his shirt pocket. "Though Shinobu's head doesn't seem to be screwed on straight enough to be sticking into lion's mouths."  
  
    "I... am flustered, Taiki-san," the blond boy- Shinobu- protested, standing straight again. He looked a bit like Mufasa himself with his golden hair and his large brown eyes, I noted with no small amount of amusement. "I assure you, I am much more composed when performing."  
  
    "I'm fairly certain Taiki is teasing," the final and strangest member of the trio told Shinobu with a small, but radiant smile, her green eyes worried but warm. Unlike the rest of us, her outfit didn't even come close to a school uniform. It was a black, flowing Greek chiton, the same color as the giant feathery wings sprouting out of her back.  _It's rude to stare, Hoshiko._ Her hair was long, red, and gorgeous, and a white rose was resting in it. She turned her small smile to us. "Hello... My name is Dvorah. I'm known as the Ultimate Human Experiment."  
  
    "Introductions are overdue," Taiki agreed, and he nodded to us. "Katuso Taiki, Ultimate Veterinarian."   
  
    "Shinobu Ryoichi, Ultimate Lion Tamer. And the little one is Mufasa. But please refer to me as Shinobu," Shinobu added hurriedly. "Anything else is a bit uncomfortable."  
  
    Katou, Amami and I all gave our names and talents. "So can you fly, Dvorah-san?" Katou asked her.  
  
    "Normally, yes." She turned her gaze to the ground. "But right now, I cannot."  
  
    "Her wings are clipped," Taiki explained. "Much like one would clip a parakeet's. Likely to keep her from reaching the top of the dome, not that I'm seeing any holes in the glass."  
  
    "There have to be holes, or at least an oxygen tank somewhere," Katou pointed out. "Otherwise we are doomed to run out of oxygen sooner rather than later."  
  
    Mufasa, who had seemed content to sit near Shinobu's feet, suddenly began growling, gaze fixed on something behind all of us at the same time I heard the rumbling of what sounded like the wheels of a cart. We all turned at the same time. "What in the-" Taiki started.  
  
    "Oh my," Dvorah murmured.  
  
    "A fox?" Shinobu asked.  
  
    Amami and Katou remained silent as the creature came up to us, dragging a wagon along. "Looks more like a stuffed animal to me," I commented, looking over the fox in the frilly maid outfit. It was half white and half red, eyes a bright amber with one an oval and the other a lightning bolt, and it didn't react to any of our surprise. Silently taking a black and white tablet from the wagon and holding it out to me. What Ryou had called a student handbook. This definitely counted as something strange handing this to him... I took the handbook, pressing the button in the center.  
  
     _Hoshiko Tomomi, Ultimate Astrologist,_ flashed on the screen.  _Booting Monopad... boot successful. Welcome to the Ultimate Academy. Before proceeding, please head to the gym for orientation.  
  
    _ "Orientation, huh..." Amami murmured.  
  
    "Looks like we all got the same message," Katou remarked, and I watched as the stuffed fox kicked the wagon so that it began folding into a collapsible form. "Does anyone know where the gym is?"  
  
    "It's on the first floor," I replied. "It was locked when Amami jiggled the handle to it..." Amami nodded to confirm what I'd said.  
  
    "Should... should we really go?" Dvorah asked, her wings fluffed out slightly.  
  
    I looked back down at the fox, and it looked back up at me expectantly before turning and beginning to walk, gesturing for us to follow. "Well, we've been wondering why we're here. This seems the best way to get answers," I replied, and began following. I heard everyone fall in step behind me, and we followed the strange stuffed animal back towards the doors of the building. I glanced up, seeing the logo on the top of the large school-like building and that it was again emblazoned with "Ultimate Academy."  
  
    Whatever it was we were in for... there were sixteen of us, all of us Ultimates. Surely we could handle anything our captors might throw at us?


End file.
